Donna Serdula - LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies

3 Look at your search result and determine if it showcases you in the best light.Did you upload a professional profile picture? Is your headline engaging? Read through the chapters in Part 2of this book to learn how to optimize these different areas.

Look at Figure 2-4 to see the difference between an optimized and an unoptimized search result listing and the differences between a free and a paid user listing.

FIGURE 2-4:An optimized search result versus an unoptimized result.

To appear in search results, you must identify what words people are using to find a person like you. What words would they type into LinkedIn search to find you? These search terms are your keywords.

Your profile never appears in search results for terms that do not appear in your profile. In order to appear, your profile must contain those keywords people use to search.

How many keywords do you need? I suggest choosing five to ten main keywords to pepper throughout your profile. When you try to rank for too many keywords, you lose keyword density and you end up not ranking for anything.

Keywords don’t have to be just one word. A keyword could be a phrase. For example, profit and loss may be three words, but it is considered one keyword.

Keywords must be descriptive and exact. Problem-solver and dynamic professional are not good keywords. These words are too general and can describe anyone from a top executive to an office manager. Good keywords are specific and reflective of key skills, strengths, core competencies, specialties, and abilities that differentiate you.

Here are some questions to help you determine your keywords:

In what industries have you worked?

What positions have you held?

What certifications have you earned?

What skill sets were listed on your last job description or resume?

What computer applications do you know?

What languages do you speak?

What services do you provide?

What topics are you an expert in?

What products do you sell?

What additional strengths or skill sets do you have?

Answering these questions provides you with a starting point. Now that you have a few keywords, the next step is to use one of several online keyword tools to find additional, related keywords.

The following is a list of keyword examples to get you thinking. These are real meat-and-potato keywords. Highlight or star the keywords that seem to fit you and your role. Once you have that list, use the keyword tools described in the next section to dive in deeper and find more keywords that fit you.

Accounting

Account reconciliation

Auditing

Budgets/budgeting/budget control

Contract management

Corporate governance

Financial reporting/analysis

Financial statements

Fixed assets

General ledger

Internal controls

Inventory management

Investment finance

Investor relations

Tax accounting

Taxation

Engineering

3D modeling

Assembly design/modification

Conceptualization

Consistency and compatibility

Data collection and analysis

Design methodologies

Efficiency control

Integrated solutions and services

Job costing

Mission-critical programs

Process development

Process improvements

Project management

Prototypes

Resource allocation

Executive

Budgeting

Business plans

Change management

Deal negotiations

International business

IPOs

Joint ventures

Operational streamlining

P&L/Profit and loss

Policy development

Process reengineering

Profit building

Restructuring

Start-up operations

Turnaround strategies

Human Resources

Business reengineering

Compensation management/analysis

Deferred compensation

Dispute arbitration

Employee relations

Job description development

Labor relations

Leadership development

New Hire orientation

Performance management

Recruitment/recruiting

Succession planning

Talent management

US Family and Medical Leave Act

Workforce planning

Information Technology

Data center operations

Database administration

Fault analysis

Information security

Infrastructure development

IT risk management

Multiplatform integration

Network administration

Process reengineering

Quality assurance

Solutions delivery

Systems configuration

Technical documentation

Web-based technology

Yield management

Professor/Teacher

Brain-based learning

Classroom management

Classroom planning

Curriculum design

Curriculum development

Discipline strategies

Educational leadership

Educational technology

In-service training

Interdisciplinary teaching approaches

Lesson planning

Peer mentoring

Process improvement

Teacher-parent relations

Technology integration

Retail

Assortment

Customer service/interpersonal skills

Inventory management

Loss prevention

Marketing strategy

Merchandise planning

Merchandising

Planograms

POS terminals

Sales management

Shrinkage

Store management

Store operations

Team management

Visual merchandising

Sales and Marketing

Account expansion

Account management

Account retention

Channel development

Client relations

Competitive analysis

Contract negotiations

Lead generation

Market analysis

New business development

Post-sale support

Product rollout

Proposal development

Prospecting

Sales forecasting

Supply Chain

Asset management

Cost reduction

Demand planning

Distribution management

Inventory control

Logistics planning

Loss prevention

Procurement

Purchasing

Quality control/assurance

Route management

Shipping/receiving

Six Sigma

Vendor relations

Warehousing

Telecommunications

3G

Audio visual and peripheral equipment

Broadband

Customer service

Integration

Internet protocol (IP)

Network installations

Product management

Project management

Telephony

Value-added service

Voice and data networks

Voice over IP (VOIP)

Wireless technology

Coming up with the right keywords is challenging. The good news is that there are tools designed to assist you in finding the right keywords.

One of my favorite techniques to determine keywords is the word cloud. A word cloud is a way to visualize data. It is an image composed of words used in a particular piece of writing. The size of each word is determined by how many times the word is used or the importance of that word. A word cloud generator is an application that scans through text and provides a graphic output of words. The more often a specific word appears in inputted text, the larger and more colorful the word is shown in the word cloud. (My favorite word cloud generator is found at WordArt.com, which I discuss in the next section.)